Stuck in a storm that never seems to end
by Dylexa the Fangirl
Summary: The Elric brothers have been ordered to check out the disappearances of the town Aquroya. Rumors spread that there have been several murders there. When they arrive, they realize just how horrifyingly true these rumors are. Rated T because of the content. This is an old story, and I'm only moving it to this account from my other account, but feel free to read it!
1. Chapter 1

**(To those of you who are about to read this, feel free to do so, but this is an old story of mine. I am moving it from my original account to this new account, which is mainly for old stories that I do not wish to keep on my main account, which is named _Dylexa_. I won't have anything good up there for a while, sadly. I am working on it though!)**

**Hello peoplez! Yeah, Dylexa is back! I decided that the start to my story "The Ekitai Alchemist" just wasn't working out too well, because it was aiming in the direction of being based off "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" and I really didn't want _that_, because really, it's hard to write constant chapters based off things that I already read or saw...trust me, you guys can't tell, but I had a chapter three completed about a month ago, and I was on the constant thought of "This thing sucks...I can't publish _this_shit!" So yeah, this story is going to be a bit different...I guess you could say that it's going to be like another version of the FMA series...okay...that's what a fanfiction _is_...but you get the point.**

**WARNING: I have an OC in this story, but really, I encourage you to read it. If you don't like my story because of the OC, I feel kind of sad, but i guess I understand. I try as hard as I could though not to make my character a Marry Sue, and my grammar is just _great_, so I urge you to read it! And also, the plot gets really cool too! Trust me, I'm making it full of twists and turns and blood and gore and just all that stuff I know you _love!_**

**Also, I might change the name to this story, because really, I couldn't think of anything else to name it...and really, I'm too excited to think of a better name! Besides, this name _does_ suit it, I just might wanna change it later!**

**Edward: Just shut up already!**

**Dylexa: _Well_, excuse _me_! This isn't just your story you know!**

**Edward: I don't care! I'm bored!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or any other character from the show. Thankfully I do not own Edward, so I don't have to take care of his lazy ass either.**

**Edward: HEY!**

**Claimer: I do own Rain Halpern, the Ekitai Alchemist, and I do own this fanfiction, so do not steal. I will hunt you down and kill you with my water gun...trust me, water guns work. Water. Guns. Work.**

**Edward: No they don't.**

**Dylexa: (squirts Edward with a water gun)**

**Edward: (groans) please tell me that was water.**

**Dylexa: All I'm saying is that you might want to take a shower.**

**Edward: WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SQUIRT ME WITH!**

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**Blood and thunder**

"_Just stay safe, goddammit. You'll make me look bad if you die."_

He ran. That was all he could do in defense. He had no choice anymore...his moves of attack were futile.

Blood and rain soaked through his clothes, chilling his body. The sticky red liquid that dripped from the cut on his head stung in his eyes, and all he could see was crimson. His feet made a _split splat_ sound as he tried to flee from his attacker. He didn't even notice that the rain drops falling down on him had started to fall even harder. His life was too important to worry about that anyway.

_Split splat!_

_Split splat!_

_Split-_!

His feet splashed into a puddle as he halted to a stop, dirty water rushing into his shoes. Rubbing the blood from his eyes, he looked at the shadow that hovered over him.

Before he could do anything to protect himself, his neck tightened, trapping the air from his lungs. It was a mystery to how he had managed to let a small cry escape his lips, because he could hardly breathe.

Strong hands tightened their grip around his neck for a moment before pain exploded through his back as he was thrown at the wall nearby.

The man tried to get up, but his attacker was swift. He had grabbed the man's head with his right hand before he could blink.

"I will give you a moment to pray to God," his attacker said. He was tall and muscular, and his skin was brown. His hair was white and cut short, and a pale 'X' shaped scar had been burned across his face. The man saw that he was wearing sun glasses. Beneath the right orange sleeve of his jacket, the man saw strange tattoos on his arm.

"W-why are you k-kil-lling me? What have I-I done to_ you_?"

His voice had been quivering in such a horrible way that it was making it quite difficult for him to speak. He didn't even bother to put up a brave act. He knew that nothing would help prove wrong against the fact that he was going to die today, so there was no point in trying to hide his fear any longer.

"You have defied God. There for, you must be eliminated," the man with the scar said, his grip on the first man's head tightening.

Before his victim could scream for help, blood and bits of brain squirted out from his skull, and a bright blue light illuminated the alley. The scarred man's victim fell to the ground, and a puddle of blood almost immediately began to form around his head the moment it had slammed to the ground. The pounding rain immediately washed away the blood from the dead man's skull, and made the puddle of blood surrounding his head watery and less red.[1]

**...**

"You heard the news? _The Silver Alchemist [2] is_ _dead._"

"That's the third one this week! Wonder who's gonna come down next?"

"I dunno, but if the Colonel or someone else doesn't catch the killer soon, it could be just about _anyone_."

As a young teen walked by in the building of Central command, she couldn't help but over hear these comments the people who worked here were throwing around. She did her best to ignore them, since she had already heard of the gruesome death this morning, but a small chill still went down her spine when she heard the last sentence spoken.

_I guess I gotta keep my eyes peeled. For all I know, _I _could be that bastard's next target._

The girl had the average looks of an Amestrian girl; black hair that went past her shoulders, pale skin, green eyes. Although many people she had known throughout her life seemed to tower over her, but that didn't really matter to her. As long as she was healthy, she didn't care. She didn't care much for her looks, as long as she was still alive.

Just as she was about to take another step, a picture of a small girl with light chestnut hair, who was no older than two or three, was shoved in the girl's face. She blinked in shock.

"You like the new picture of Elicia?" The man who was holding the picture of his daughter, Elicia, asked with a giddy grin. "Just took it yesterday."

The man who had asked this was named Maes Hughes. He was of average height, and he had muscular arms. He looked identical to the girl both in the picture, and the girl he was showing the picture to now, having green eyes that hid behind square glasses, and jet black hair that was brushed back.

The girl studied the picture of Elicia carefully for a minute, not wanting to be rude. Even though Maes had tendencies to show off his daughter a bit too much, his young friend had enough manners to pay attention, even if she was in no mood to do such. She was raised to be_ polite_ after all, and to not pay attention to a friend was most definitely a rude thing to do.

"It's nice to know that your daughter Elicia will grow up with a father who loves her so much," the girl said with a small smile. "She's cute. She's really starting to look like Gracia. And she's got your eyes too, Maes."

The girl's name was Rain Halpern, also known as the Ekitai Alchemist. She had been working in the military for about two years now. Her time was a bit boring, since the only work she really had to do was research to maintain her tittle as a state alchemist, but she was thankful for the peace.

"Thank you, Rain!" Maes put his photo back into his coat pocket. He looked down at Rain with what seemed like worried eyes. The smile that had been on his face moments ago was now gone, replaced by a serious frown.

"Is anything wrong?"

Rain wished she hadn't asked. She_ knew_ what was coming. She hoped that Maes had not heard the news yet of the recent murder.

Her hopes were soon gone when Maes spoke again.

"Don't you think that it's a bit _dangerous_ to be living homealone the way you are? Especially since there's a _serial killer_ on the loose," Maes started, sounding too much like a parent that Rain didn't want to have to listen to. "You know you're more than welcome to stay with my wife and I."

"Don't think it'd matter. Besides, it's not like I can'tfight...don't you think that it'd be putting your family in danger, letting me stay at your house anyway? I'd just cause more of a hassle than necessary."

Maes's frown worsened.

"B-but thank you," Rain added, making sure to remember her manners. "I appreciate it, but I think that as long as I keep my doors and windows locked, I'll be fine. Besides, I live in the military dorms...I'm sure _that_ will keep him away, right? It's not like I sneak out at night, anyway."

"I guess that's true." Maes gave up, but seemed unconvinced. "But you know...I actually heard that Roy might send you out on your first real mission soon."

Rain looked at Maes, flabbergasted. First this man asks her to stay with his family, then when she declines it he immediately tells her that there's a good chance that she might be _sent away_?

"...then why did you ask if I wanted to stay at your place if I'm just going to beleaving soon?"

Maes shrugged. "I didn't say that this _will_ happen. I said that this _might_ happen. Don't want to leave you in the dust if it doesn't happen."

"But it's still not a 'no', is it?"

"Just thought I'd give you the heads up."

"Well, okay. Thanks."

The two talked a little more about unimportant things, like the ridiculous amount of hours that they were given of work, and the 'dramatic' drop in the amount they were getting paid. Stupid taxes.

Finally after about fifteen minutes of chatting, the two bid their goodbyes and walked in opposite directions. They had work to do, and none of it would get done if they were just standing around, babbling.

**...**

"Still working on those papers, I see, Mr. _Flame Alchemist_. You can always just burn those, you know."

The man that Rain had spoken to was none other than Roy Mustang. Most people he knew actually towered over him as easily as they did with Rain, but he was still tall enough to tower over Rain, so nobody really talked about his height much. His dark hair covered his eyes a little as he was leaning over the vast amount of papers sprawledacross his desk.

"Miss Halpern, please don't mock Colonel Mustang's state name," said one of Roy's subordinates, Riza Hawkeye. Her long blonde hair was bound into a bun with a berate, and her brown eyes watched Rain carefully, like...well, a hawk.

"Sorry Lieutenant," Rain apologized with a sheepish grin. "Won't happen again."

Rain knew that Riza was probably just upset about the serial killer out and about, because Rain had always mocked Roy's name like that. She even teased Roy about his state name when Riza was around, and she almost never complained about it _then_. Why wouldn't she be worried? Her job could be at stake, since she was almost always by Roy's side to protect him. This serial killer was known to kill only state alchemists, and Roy was obviously one of them. He was a very well-known state alchemist as well, so that only put him at more risk.

Rain was also able to tell that from the look in her brown eyes, Riza cared about Roy. Rain wasn't sure in which way Riza cared, since Riza was very good at hiding her emotions most of the time, but she didn't think it really mattered. She most definitely cared about Roy, that was for sure.

Roy wrote something down quickly before looking up at Rain.

"I could pay you 5000 cens to do half of this for me," Roy grimaced.

"_Fat chance._ Besides, I thought you wanted to turn in papers that had _good_ quality, not something that'll get you _fired._"

Roy chuckled. "Point proven."

Rain looked at Roy for a minute, watching patiently as his right hand moved in a left-to-right motion. She waited for a moment more before she spoke, figuring that Roy was much too busy to deal with her.

"Well, I guess I'll get started on my own work then."

Roy put his pen down, and Rain saw a spark in the man's eyes.

Something was going on. Rain had only seen that spark Roy's eyes a couple times she worked with him in these two years.

"Actually, that won't be necessary."

_You were right, Maes. The **Flame **is chasing me away._

"And may I ask why not, Sir?"

A pause, and Roy smirked. "I guess you can call it a _promotion_. I'm sending you on your first mission."

_Yup, the Flame is too hot to stay near, so I have to get farther away now._

"My first mission, huh?"

Roy nodded. "You won't be alone though. I'm sending someone with you."

"Sir..." Rain frowned. She wasn't into the violence, so it'd probably be easier to avoid it with someone traveling by her side, but she wasn't exactly comfortable, traveling with someone she barely knew. She never worked well with others anyway...she'd usually take up all the work, leaving the others in the dust. "...I don't really think I need the protect-"

"I didn't say they were going to be there to _protect_ you. I know what you're capable of...if I didn't think that you'd be safe traveling the world, I would have requested for your tittle to be taken away long ago." Roy was smirking, as if confident.

Rain crossed her arms. What in the world was Roy_ planning_?

Despite the fact that she was still stuck traveling with someone, she felt a bit better that they weren't there to protect her. She hated getting help from people and believed in working independently very strongly.

She stayed quiet, waiting patiently for Roy to continue to speak.

"You and Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, are to check out the town, Aquroya [3], and are to invest into the disappearances of the people there." Roy handed Rain a manila envelope. "There's more information on the mission inside."

Rain looked at the envelope for a minute before putting it into her coat pocket. She decided that now wasn't the time to look at it. "Thank you sir...but...did you say that the _Fullmetal Alchemist_ was coming with me as well?"

Roy nodded. "Once he and his brother arrive, I'll explain that you will aid him on his trip to Aquroya. There's a train leaving tomorrow night at ten. Your tickets are in the envelope. Make sure you give the brothers theirs."

"Yes sir."

"Now I suggest you get ready for the trip...pack a couple items you want to bring with you, say goodbye to anyone if necessary...I don't know how long it'll be until you return here, but I'm sure it's going be a while. By the time you're ready, I'm sure the Elric brothers will be here."

Rain bid a small goodbye before leaving Roy's office.

"I've heard that some of the missing people were found _dead_ and covered in _blood_," Riza said as soon as she was sure that Rain was out of earshot. "Are you sure they could handle the mission?"

"They'll be fine," Roy said confidently. "You know these kids."

"Still...I'm pretty sure that they've never had to solve a _murder case_."

Roy looked at his papers, scribbling something down. "When Edward and Rain joined the military, they _expected_ these kinds of missions to be thrown at them sooner or later. You can't say that I'm going too _hard_ on them, Riza."

"They're still _children_, sir."

Roy stopped writing. He read over what he had written slowly and carefully, checking for any mistakes. He stayed quiet for a while.

"Sir?"

Roy sighed. "They've gotta grow up sometime, Hawkeye."

**...**

"Look at this picture of Elicia! Isn't she cute?_!_ She's been so cute lately! I just love her!"

For the past fifteen minutes, Maes had been showing off dozens of pictures to the two startled boys, babbling on and on about the famed Elicia. It seemed like he hadn't even stopped to take a breath yet.

"Um...Major? While we'd like to stay and hear about your daughter, we didn't really come to chat," Edward said. He was remarkably shorter than his younger brother, Alphonse, who already was taller than most people. Edward had golden hair and golden eyes. He was still very young, but the constant frown that was pasted across his face proved that he was much more mature than most children his age. The dark past that he shared with his brother had molded him into who he was today.

"Yeah, but maybe we can see some more pictures another time," Alphonse added, being careful not to make it sound like that they didn't want to hear another word about Elicia. Even if thanks to Maes, the brothers had learned fifty pages worth about Elicia in under half an hour, he did not want to seem rude. Even though he looked tough with his soul trapped inside that heavy suit of armor, he was quite sweet and thought of others.

Maes seemed to understand. He put his picture away. "Oh yes, I forgot that Roy had asked you guys to come to Central Command today. He's probably expecting you guys right now, isn't he?"

Edward nodded.

"Well, alright then...don't want to get you boys in trouble...but one more thing." Maes looked grim. His hazel eyes shone with worry, and the grin that was on his face moments before was now replaced by a frown similar to Edward's. "You boys watch your backs, alright? Don't do anything crazy...I know how reckless you two can be..."

Edward and Alphonse looked at Maes in shock, but both agreed to be as careful as they could. With that settled, Maes wished them a farewell and left the two brothers without another word.

"What was all _that_ about?" Edward asked as soon as Maes was out of ear shot.

Alphonse shrugged. "I'm sure Mr. Hughes has his reasons. He's probably just worried about us, brother."

"I guess that could be it."

The two brothers were silent all the way up to Roy's office. When they got there, they saw that the door was already open. This struck them as an odd thing, but they did not think much as they walked in.

"About time you two boys came," Roy said in a taunting way that made Edward's blood boil, "I was worried you weren't coming."

Riza rolled her eyes at Roy. He was acting childish again...

"Well, we didn't come to see your ugly face," Edward muttered, earning a slap on the back from Alphonse. Roy had not heard what Edward said, yes, but Alphonse hated it when his brother spoke rudely of people like that. He knew that their mother would not have liked Edward's harsh attitude either.

Edward glared at his brother for a second more before speaking. "You said you had a mission for me, right? That I'm supposed to investigate into the disappearances in Aquroya."

Roy nodded. "There's been a slight change in plans, but it's basically the same."

"Well what's the change in plans?"

"Um..."

The brothers looked behind them to search for the new voice. It was a young girl, holding a black back pack that matched her hair.

Rain's pale cheeks turned a rosy pink when they looked at her.

"Boys, this is Rain Halpern, the Ekitai Alchemist. She will be aiding you two on your mission," said a calm Roy. "Rain, these are the Elric brothers."

Rain grimaced. With her face still flushed, she shook Alphonse's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Edward. I can see why they call you the Fullmetal Alchemist..."

Edward winced. This had always happened with him and Alphonse on their journeys, so he was used to this by now...they always mistook _Alphonse_ for Edward. Even worse, people would almost _laugh_, or would be horribly shocked, when they realized that Edward was the older brother. Not only was Alphonse taller than Edward, but he seemed much more mature than Edward. In a way, he _was_.

"Um...it's nice to meet you too...but I'm actually Edward's_ younger_ brother, Alphonse," Alphonse said, feeling sorry for Edward. He pointed to his older brother.

Rain looked at Edward, then back at Alphonse. Her cheeks turned a new shade of red that didn't even seem possible to show up on skin.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry..." She looked at Roy as she shook Edward's gloved hand, and Roy chuckled. Rain was looking horribly _confused_.

"I know. _I'm_ disappointed too."

"_Hey!_" Edward shouted angrily. His face turned just as red as Rain's, but his face was red out of rage.

"Roy, stop teasing the poor kid," Riza sighed. She looked tired, and felt quite sorry for Edward, having to be taunted like this. Sometimes she felt like she was Roy's _baby sitter_.

Roy stifled a snort, but he couldn't force down the smirk on his face. Edward had been so angry at Roy that he had forgotten about Rain until Alphonse spoke up.

"So basically, she's coming with us to help us on the mission?"

"That's right," Roy said.

"Wait a second!" Edward roared, making Alphonse groan. "We don't _need_ any help! When the hell did Roy say that this _kid_ was coming with us?_!_"

"He told you right after he introduced me," Rain said softly, keeping her voice steady and relaxed.

"Colonel Sir, we don't need any help! Al and I can do just fine on our own!"

"Ed, quit being rude!" Alphonse scolded. "I'm sure we could use the help!"

"We'd just be carrying around _unnecessary weight_!"

Roy, Riza and Rain waited for the two brothers to settle down before Roy spoke again.

"Edward, whether or not you _think_ that you do not need the Ekitai Alchemist's help doesn't matter to me. Even if I _didn't_ want to send her out, I've got no choice. I've been_ ordered_ to send her out."

Edward heaved out a tired breath. "Fine. Let's go, Al."

He stormed out the room without another word, letting Alphonse and Rain trail behind.

"I'm sorry about my brother's attitude," Alphonse said, feeling genuinely guilty as the three got outside.

To Alphonse's surprise, Rain smiled.

"No need to be sorry, Alphonse. I felt the same way your brother was acting when Roy first told me, so I really can't blame Edward."

"But that's no excuse to act rude!"

Rain shrugged, quickening her pace when Edward quickened his.

Alphonse, quickening his pace as well, said nothing more, deciding that he'd just be babbling if he continued to complain about his brother's attitude like this. Besides, Edward was almost always like this to people...Edward just didn't know how to be socially polite like him.

Alphonse couldn't help but feel sorry for Rain...and for _himself_. Listening to Edward's constant complaints aimed at Rain was going to be a pain for both of them, he could tell. It wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world, listening to Edward when he was mad or in a bad mood...he had learned that by experience throughout the fourteen years of his life.

_This is going to be a **long**trip._

_**...**_

**[1] I'm sure Scar will be an important role in the story, but I don't know how much. I just know that there will be a scene with Scar and the kids later, so...yeah...also, I wrote that to grab your guy's attention! He may not be in the place the kids are going to, but that doesn't mean that he won't be not here!**

**[2] I know the Silver Alchemist is a real dude from FMA, but he was killed by Scar and played almost no role in the story, so I decided to use him. I don't know what he was like, so this guy was a bit different from the real Silver Alchemist I can imagine. I mean...he seemed pretty cowardly in my story...**

**[3] I know that's a real town in the first Anime, but it's actually gonna be completely different in this story. I needed a name of a town, and i thought it'd make sense to use one of the towns from the show...ugh, now all I gotta do is remember how to spell Aquroya...that's gonna be _fun_...kill me...**

**You guys have no idea how hard I worked on this! I'd stay up until two in the morning, holding a cup of water that was warm and gross, and yawning trying not to get used to my new bed time system! It was so much fun, but now I'm gonna take a nice...long..._nap_...**

**Oh yeah, and one more thing! Well...this is a bit stupid to ask...but my birthday, July 12th...it's coming up...and it'd be great if you guys actually reviewed...it'd be a nice birthday present, you know? I work long and hard on this stuff, and while I have fun, I'd really like to see what you guys think of this. It'd be like a kick in the teeth to not get any reviews after working so hard on this...I put my _life_ into this! My heart and my soul! (Lol, get it? I put my _soul_ into this!) **

**Alrighty...oh yeah, but if anyone does a review with "Birthday bash" I'll put your names up in the beginning of the next chapter...10 reviews at the least guys!**

**Ack, I'm really desperate, aren't I? Well, bye bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(To those of you who are about to read this, feel free to do so, but this is an old story of mine. I am moving it from my original account to this new account, which is mainly for old stories that I do not wish to keep on my main account, which is named _Dylexa_. I won't have anything good up there for a while, sadly. I am working on it though!)**

**(Hello my fellow readers! Dylexa here, with more to the story I worked my arse off for, so you better freaking review!**

**Rain: Sheesh, stop being melodramatic and do the birthday bash thing already.**

**Edward: I think doing that is self-centered.**

**Dylexa: Shuddup Edward! But yes, now that you two mention it, I've got people I need to thank and people I need to birthday bash. **

**So, birthday bashers, FlamingFlyingFoxOfDoom, Chihuahua rocks, and Dream Theme, thank you for saying happy birthday! BIRTHDAY BASH!**

**...sorry, that was crappy. Couldn't think of anything fun so you can give me some ideas for how to do that, but also, I want to thank the people who didn't say b-day bash, because it's easy to either forget to do that or not want to say birthday bash, lol! (God, I am self-centered when I say that!)**

**Edward: No kidding.**

**Dylexa: *twitches* So, thank you AuroralDust and DarlingRose1066 for reviewing! I was very pleased!...Rain?**

**Rain: Ugh, what?**

**Dylexa: Since Eddy did it last chapter, you have to disclaim and claim the parts I do and don't own.**

**Rain: Fine. Dylexa does not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or any of the characters there, including Edward...thankfully. That dumb blonde is a pain in the ass.**

**Edward: HEY!**

**Rain: However, she does own me, any other OC, and this fanfiction. If you try to steal any of that, I will come to your house and use my alchemy to turn you into water.**

**Dylexa: Ooooh, nice!**

**Rain: Thanks!**

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**In which a time where we wish we could have kept our mouths shut**

_We never expected this.  
Much less, **wanted** this.  
But I guess we're stuck with it anyway  
I just wish  
that damn Roy would have told me  
that we were solving a **murdercase**!_

Edward tried to gasp in air, but found that it was very difficult to breathe. Sweat dripped from his forehead, making strands of blonde hair cling to his forehead. He tried to stop his hands from trembling, squeezing them as tight as he could, but that only made it worse, and his arms started shaking horribly.

"We found her this morning. She's the tenth one we've found like this." One man said solemnly. He and a few other men had been standing nearby. A couple of them, including the man who had just spoken, seemed to be the town's police men.

"You mean there are others who have been _murdered_?_!_" Rain's voice was barely audible, at least to Edward it was.

On the morning Edward, Alphonse and Rain had arrived at Aquroya, they had immediately noticed that the town was unusually quiet. For the first hour after they had arrived, they searched the town, wondering if all the residents of Aquroya had disappeared. After all, Mustang _had_ said that a lot of people here were missing.

Now they knew why the town had that deathly silence...the residents of Aquroya must have been hiding in their houses. The bloody sight told the story, or at least part of it.

Edward stared down at the bloody corpse of the women that he would never meet, his heart full of sorrow and fear.

The woman's body was covered in cuts and bruises. One of her arms had been chopped off, and Edward saw that the killer had slashed at the woman's neck for the final blow. Her light chestnut hair was drenched in blood, and her clothes were also scarlet. A puddle of cold blood surrounded her beaten body, adding even more crimson to the scene.

"Have the other victims shown up similar to this?" Rain asked, her voice steady and calm. Edward wondered if Rain had been through situations like this before.

The man who had told them of the other victims nodded. "Yes. Usually most of them would be missing a limb...or their _head_. There are still more people missing than found dead though."

"Are there any specific patterns about the abductions? Like, are the victims and abductees all women, perhaps?"

The man shook his head, his black pony-tailed hair swishing slightly. "No. They're all different people...men and women...even _children_."

"Do you have any leads to who could have done this?"

The man shook his head again. "No. All that we know is that the killer uses an _axe_ to kill."

"Do you think that perhaps the killer has also abducted the people gone missing? Or at the least, has some connection to the people gone missing?"

"Can't say that I know."

Edward stopped paying attention to Rain's questions. He took another glance at the woman, and his breathing quickened, making him feel light headed...he knew he should just stop, but he couldn't. He desperately wished he could tear his eyes away when he saw the color of the woman's eyes;

They were hazel.

Just like his mother's.

Edward felt his stomach twist up. He was thankful that he hadn't had breakfast...he knew that, after seeing _this_, he would have just thrown it back up. His legs felt weak and shaky, and he was trying as hard has he could not to feint.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Edward finally tore his eyes away from the dead body and looked up at his brother. He saw the concern in Alphonse's eyes, and knew that Alphonse saw the terror in his own golden eyes.

_I gotta make it seem like that I'm okay-that this didn't scare me. Don't want to give Alphonse a reason to be scared._

Edward grimaced. "I'm just fine, Al."

But Edward was feeling opposite of 'just fine'. He stuck his trembling hands in the pockets of his red coat, hopping that Alphonse had not seen them.

"Who are you exactly? Why are you asking all these questions?" The man asked finally, after Rain had asked yet another question. He sounded worried, but Rain didn't seem to notice, which bothered Ed.

She jabbed her thumb into her chest. "My name is Rain Halpern, _the_ _Ekitai Alchemist_."

Edward rolled his eyes. Rain was being too dramatic.

The man looked confused. "_Ekitai_?"

Rain nodded. Her emerald eyes, which seemed bright moments ago, now seemed to dim a bit.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I've heard of you before."

Edward stifled a chuckle. Rain looked down at her boots, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"Well..." Rain pointed at Edward and Alphonse. "Have you heard of the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric? Him, his brother and I have been sent here to invest into the disappearances of the residents here...that's why we're here."

Edward winced. _Did she have to ruin our cover? _

The man looked Alphonse up and down, making Edward seethe in rage. He knew _exactly_ what he was going to say next; He had heard this so much that he was starting to get very annoyed. He wondered how long it would take until he was completely insane.

"So you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric? I see where you get your name from, Mister Elric." Walter knocked his bony knuckle against Alphonse's armor.

"Actually...I'm Edward's younger brother, Alphonse," Alphonse said nonchalantly. He pointed at Edward. "This is the guy you're looking for."

"Nice to meet you," Edward mumbled.

"Wow, you're really _Edward_?" The man looked down at Edward, as if the blonde was a small child that had just told an exaggerated story. "I'm sorry, I had no idea you'd be so _small_! The rumors said that you were a tiny alchemist, but I had no idea you'd be this short! You're just a kid!"

"I'M NOT SMALL!"

The man guffawed at Edward. He patted his head, only making the fuming blonde more aggravated.

"My name's Walter. It's nice to meet you three."

Edward forced down his anger, deciding that it wasn't worth it to shout any more than he already had. It'd just make him tired anyway, and that was something that Edward most definitely did not want.

"Alright...there are a couple more questions I need to ask, if that's alright with you," Rain said.

"Sure thing, little missy. Ask away."

"Well...first of all, have the people here been disappearing at a certain time of day? Like at night?"

Walter's expression darkened. "Yes. The people who have gone missing usually disappeared around night. That's why we have a curfew now."

"Night, huh?" Rain put a finger to her chin. "Can you give me a description of the killer, or maybe some identification?"

"I can't, but I'm sure someone else here could. Why don't you try checking out the inn here? I heard that the innkeeper knows someone who's seen the killer."

"And where could the inn be?"

"At the end of town." Walter pointed ahead of him. "It should be safe to walk around here at this time of day."

_It better be safe_, Edward thought darkly.

Rain thanked Walter, and the three started walking towards the inn.

The three stayed silent as they walked. The only sound they heard was Alphonse's armor, which clanked each time he took a step. Edward barely heard that though, since he had gotten used to it long ago.

_Whether or not Walter really _is_ the killer, it doesn't change the fact on how _serious_ this really is. Dammit Mustang! Why didn't you tell us we were solving a murder case_!_?_

Edward jumped when he felt a hand rest on his left shoulder blade. He turned his head to see green eyes looking back at him.

"Are you alright Edward? You look a bit pale."

Edward felt his brother's eyes rest on him like Rain's did. The three stopped walking, much to Edward's contempt. He tried to continue walking, but Rain's grip on his shoulder held fast.

"I'm fine." Edward couldn't tell if the two had heard him or not, because his voice had come out very small. He felt very weak as the image of that woman raced through his head, making his stomach twist in discomfort. He looked away, not wanting Rain to see the fear in his eyes.

He felt her squeeze his shoulder a bit before she let go.

"If you say so, Ed."

Edward felt relieved when they started walking again. He was especially glad when Rain and Alphonse stayed quiet.

Edward was in no mood to talk about this anyway. He was generally not the person to tell people how he was feeling...Alphonse was an exception, since they were brothers...but even then, Edward didn't have much he felt comfortable talking about.

"So what do you think about Walter?" asked Alphonse. "He seemed nice, but something wasn't right about him."

"Yeah!" agreed Edward. "I thought I was just imagining things! Do you think he could have been the one who killed these people?"

Rain shook her head, her jet black hair swishing with her. Edward looked at Rain with a quizzical look. Rain must have felt his perplexed golden gaze, because she answered the question the two brothers had been too shocked to answer;

"He doesn't have the eyes of a killer."

"But how could you be so sure?_!_ You just met him, Rain!" Alphonse said in disbelief.

Edward heard Rain chuckle lightly.

"I just know. Besides, he's a cop. Didn't you notice his uniform? Why would a _cop _go around killing everyone?"

"Well, I think we should keep an eye out, just in case."

"Of course!"

_She's so naïve...how can she tell what a murderer's eyes look like? Has she _seen_ one before? If she judges' people like _that_, she's going to be deceived pretty easily...damn Mustang, giving me this _child_ to look after! Al and I could have done this mission just fine without her! _

"But what if he _is_ the one who killed that woman?" Edward said stubbornly. "You told him our names! If he really _is_ the one we're looking for, don't you think that giving our names was a stupid idea?"

"I think he would have recognized us anyway," Rain replied. "I mean, with Alphonse wearing that armor, it's a dead giveaway that you two are the Elric brothers. Even if people mistake you for the younger brother, Edward, it's still pointless to pretend we're someone else. It'd rise suspicion anyway if people knew we were trying to fake our names...it'd give us more attention from whoever is the one behind this mess." Rain stopped walking, and turned to look at the two boys. The calm expression on her face reminded Edward of Roy. "Besides, the Colonel didn't tell us that we had to hide our identities, so I'm sure we'll be fine. If you really wanted to hide our identities, maybe Alphonse should just take off his _armor_."

Something in Edward's stomach twisted painfully. Rain obviously had no idea how much that hurt.

"I think we'll be okay," Alphonse said. He sounded sad, which only made Edward more upset. "You said it yourself Rain, it'd only raise suspicion if people found out we were trying to hide our identity."

_Al, you're too soft._

Rain looked curious, probably to why Alphonse wasn't taking off his armor, but to Edward's relief, she didn't pry anymore. He felt that if the girl had even spoken one more word, he would have ripped her limbs off.

**...**

"Get out of my inn! I don't want state alchemists like you attracting attention! You can get us all killed!"

_**SLAM!**_

Rain blinked in shock, staring at the ebony door that had just been slammed.

When they had arrived at the inn, they received a warm welcoming from the inn keeper, who was named Clara. The inn was empty, apparently because nobody bothered to visit this town, since a mad murderer was on the loose. She had only really welcomed them for a couple minutes, until Rain introduced her, Edward and Alphonse.

"You just _had_ to tell her who we are, huh?" Edward said crossly. He rubbed his automail hand against his nose, which had unfortunately been hit by the door when Clara had slammed it.

"Alright, maybe that was kind of dumb," Rain sighed. "But at least I'm _doing_ something."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?_!_"

"_Nothing_. Sheesh, you blondes are so _stupid_!"

"ME BEING BLONDE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY SMARTS!"

"Okay now, no need to shout, brother." Alphonse put a hand on his brother's shoulder, as if that single touch would prevent him from attacking Rain. Alphonse seemed calm, reminding Rain that this sort of behavior from Edward was normal. She made a mental note to herself to be more careful about what she said around Edward.

"_Whatever_." Edward shook Alphonse's hand off his shoulder and picked up his brown traveling trunk. "Let's just get away from here, before that stupid inn keeper decides to throw a cooking pot at us."

"Do you three need a place to stay?"

Rain, following Edward and Alphonse, jumped out of her skin in surprise. She had not expected anyone to be outside at a time like this, especially when there had been a murder the night before.

Rain was greeted by a warm cobalt gaze as she turned around to face the person who had spoken. The girl looked no older than nine, with her round freckled face and her small body. Her short bobbed hair was pushed back, only adding to her already young look.

"Oh, um, we couldn't do that," Edward said politely, to Rain's surprise. "Thanks, but I don't think your parents would appreciate it if you brought home three strangers."

Rain looked down at her boots, hiding her flushed cheeks. She was too shy to admit it, but she felt an acceptance when Edward had said 'three strangers', as odd as it sounded. She was glad that Edward had at least mentioned her, even if it was in a vague way.

The girl shook her head at Edward's reply, surprising Rain more than she thought possible.

"You said you guys worked for the military, right? It's only fair that _someone_ here gives you guys a place to stay. You guys don't need to be treated like _this_. Well, c'mon then! Mamma doesn't like it when I'm gone for a long time!"

Rain, Edward and Alphonse stood, unsure of how to react. This seemed to make the girl cross, but she didn't say anything. She simply took hold of Rain's hand, and started walking. Rain looked behind to see Edward and Alphonse exchanging quick, confused glances, before following the two girls.

_Quite the bold little girl, aren't you?_ Rain thought. She was considering trying to pull away from the little girl's grip, but she was too shy to try. She didn't want to hurt her feelings, and besides, Edward and Alphonse had not said any further objection to this. Rain just hoped that they were not being rude, entering someone's home on such short notice.

"My name is Molly," Molly said sweetly, looking over her shoulder. She looked at the three with a small smile. "It's Molly Woods. It's nice to meet you three...I'm happy you've come to save this town...Momma has been getting very upset lately."

**(Okay, sorry if the chapter wasn't what you liked, it'll get more exciting soon. Oh yesh, and Molly will not be too important in the story. She may be an OC, but she's not the Rain type of OC (lol, yes, I mentioned Rain), but she'll be...well, there for reasons you'll find out later. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this! Can't wait for reviews, and please, review! Tell me what you liked, what you disliked, what I could fix, anything! I'll be writing chapter three soon, and sorry chapter two came late!**

**Rain: No you're not. You're happy that you have more time to plan out our-**

**Dylexa: I TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES! STOP TRYING TO RUIN THE STORY FOR PEOPLE! I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE RUIN SPOILERS!**

**Rain: By the way, what did you squirt Edward with in the last chapter?**

**Edward: Yeah!**

**Dylexa:...um...not telling!**

**Edward: C'MON!**

**Dylexa: Oh yeah, so I ordered this book, ya know, the third Fullmetal Alchemist light novel...it came today, and guess what? IT SMELLS LIKE ORANGES!**

**Edward and Rain:-_-'**

**Dylexa: Reviewwwwwwwww!**


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